capnwilliam

Well, I did mention it earlier, shipmate. I reckon now that it was TOO early, and it got lost. Capt. William

Well, ye'd make a most welcome guest, Rummy! :) I'll try to get the Pyrate Queen to post some pictures (it's all too high tech fer me! ) Capt. William

Please to come out and see us this weekend! :) Capt. William

Sunday's party went well, albeit with fewer than half the guests we normally have. The good part is that about half of them were pirates! We just got back from Bourbon Street. The crowds were bigger than last year - which was a bad year, due to conflict with football - but not so busy as most years. The balconies were poorly occupied. Far less flashing than normally; good costumes, though the parodies about Katrina have gotten very "old" to me by now. Lots of small children out this year; something seldom seen on Bourbon on Mardi Gras Day. All in all, a good and pleasant first Mardi Gras in our post-Katrina world. :) Capt. William

I have an idea for a customized pirate flag. Does anyone know of a flag maker who could make it? Capt. William

I'm trying to determine whether shipboard grog - back in the day when it was part of a seaman's official daily rations - was served hot or cold. Also, what exactly was the formula? Capt. William

I'd be bit cautious about describing boots as "in" for the buccaneering era, but they were certainly less "out" than in the GAoP. What I meant by "in" during the buccaneering era was not that everybody and his Bro WORE 'em then: only that it was a fashion item among the well-heeled (bad unintentional pun). In the GAOP they were "out" among those who could afford them. Capt. William

Was period grog served hot or cold? The modern recipes seem to point to a hot drink, and it sounds to me as though it would be better that way: but my question is, how WAS it served to the crew? Capt. William

Ya know THAT is a good question. I mean a good buccaneering kit could consist of as little as some clothing rags and a knife. You can easily justify not having access to or knowledge of square rigger sailing, you could feasibly build an accurate small open boat for coast raids with a few friends over a winter or two. All you need is a small tent & period camping supplies. It would be a tremendous draw at festivals to have dig & setup an authentic buccaneering pit and have the smell of roasting pig drawing people from all over. Course the smell of your clothing would probably drive them away just as fast! Mate Joshua, you have some MIGHTY good ideas there; much "food" for thought, too (aye, that roast pig's got me droolin already!) Capt. William

Early 19th century was still some 75 - 100 years AFTER the GAOP. Look at the fashion changes that have occurred between 1905-1930 to the present day; a comparable period of time. Boots seem to have been "in" during the buccaneering era, "out" during the Golden Age, and "in" again during the early 1800's. I recall reading in a book about Admiral Nelson, c. 1805, one officer advising a younger colleague to change from boots into shoes before battle: the high boots would afford nil protection but would make it that much harder for the surgeon to remove musket ball, splinters, etc. from his legs. Capt. William

As always: Mate Jan and I are hosting our whatever-annual pirate-themed Mardi Gras party, on Sunday, February 26, in conjunction with the Bacchus Parade, that starts on my doorstep! There will be some 5 Mardi Gras Parades starting on my block or within walking distance, all day and into the evening. So if you will be in the New Orleans area, or have a friend who will be, please to stop by, or invite them to! Contact me at capnwilliam@yahoo.com if you want more info. Capt. William

My Gosh, Harbor Master, that was one REALLY satisfied customer! I hope Capt. Jim-Sib takes note of this: he builds model ships for a living; very good he is at it, too. :) Capt. William

Why ignore the 19th century, Rumba? You have the Baratarians; then, a great upsurge in piracy and privateering in the Caribbean in the 1820's - 30's, what with the unemployed seamen in the wake of the close of the Napoleonic Wars: plus, the independence movements in the Spanish colonies. Then you have the last wave of privateering ever, during the American Civil War. Lots of good stuff there to reenact! :) Capt. William

Coastie, sounds like yer a modern-day privateer! Speaking of which: while my group's not the least interested in the Civil War, Mate Jan and I are going to start an impression of a Confederate privateersman. I've had an e-list for awhile - confederateprivateers@yahoogroups.com - but this will be "live". We'll probably debut the first weekend of August, at Fort Gaines. HITMAN, could you be there? Capt. William

Aye, we need to start covering more piratical bases. Our Baratarian crew - Battle of New Orleans, 1815, presently functioning only as a cannon crew at the annual reenactment - is starting to branch out into the GAOP: debuting as such at Fort Gaines, the weekend of March 4. Considering that the Buccaneers were in many ways like the Baratarians: branching into these 17th century brethren of old would be a logical eventual extension. Capt. William

It was the Buccaneer's era; though I don't know if they gave it a catchy name or not! Aye, the prizes were better. They used to sack whole towns! And the Spanish galleons really WERE loaded with gold! Capt. William

I don't know, but I'm sure it's warmer than it is here. Gotta be. No, the warm place is where they go AFTER they die! Capt. William

I find it sad, looking back over the posts from two years ago, to see the number of people who posted then, but don't now. Where DO pirates go to die, anyway? Capt. William

Very nice...but I'm a bit leery about spending in the neighborhood of $50 for a knit cap. Capt. William

I get yer point! But I've heard of only minimal evidence that anyone was ever literally made to walk the plank, in the sense that we normally use the term, and no evidence at all that any live person was ever made to lie on a plank and than be tossed overboard. Capt. William

One of Capt. Phillips' Articles, if I recall correctly, said something about punishment for a crewman who "smoaked tobacco without a cap on his pipe." :) Capt. William

I'd always heard that it was a common practice to cut a certain coin of the GAOP into eight pieces - "making change", so to speak - but then I heard that the coin in question was a "peso", and was worth "eight reales". So I got to wondering: maybe "piece" is "peso", bastardized into English, and the "eight" meant only that such is the value of the coin? Capt. William

Aye; the Harbor Master posts there; and so does Capt. William! Capt. William

This is unbelievable! (No, not really! ) Don't they take into consideration the fact that it's a flintlock? Capt. William

Collecting these oddball weapons, combination weapons, etc. is a collecting specialty unto itself. But then, sometimes we forget that even "conventional" weapons are combinations. Look at the grenade launcher mounted on the rifle. Or the bayonet, mounted on the rifle. Or the blunderbuss with the folding spike bayonet. :) Capt. William